Compass Speaks on Grand Rapids Rental Application Fee

Jul 11, 2018

On the evening of July 10th, the Grand Rapids city commission approved the Grand Rapids rental application fee ordinance that will regulate a landlord’s rental property application process. The vote was 4-1, and the ordinance will become effective on Nov. 7. Compass’ leasing manager, Deb Hawkins, was there to speak on behalf of Compass.You can jump to Deb’s comments, or, watch the whole meeting from their Fackbook Live Feed. MLive also has an article titled Rental application fee ordinance that is a good resource.

Landlords in Grand Rapids will have to revamp their application process before the November 7th deadline to be in compliance. Here are some of the bullet points from the new ordinance:

Advertisements for a rental property have to include the application fee

A unit cannot be advertised if it isn’t available for rent

Rental property owners will need to provide applicants with criteria for how their application will be judged

Include a disclosure statement that lists how exactly the fee will be used

There is no cap or limit on what a Landlord can charge for their Grand Rapids rental application fee

The fee may not be greater than the cost of screening an applicant

If an applicant is rejected for any reason other than what their application was judged on, the renter must return the application fee

If a landlord receives multiple applications for a rental unit, they have 30 days to process the applications, and 14 days after the property is filled to return application fees to the remaining individuals

The Grand Rapids rental application fee ordinance also provides fines for violations. If a rental property owner is found in violation, he or she will face a $100 fine for the first incident, $200 for the second, and $1,000 for each incident afterward.

If you are a landlord who will be effected by the new Grand Rapids rental application fee laws, Compass would be happy to help. We provide an excellent Home Leasing Service. Let Deb and her team take over all the paperwork and processing of applications. Our leasing process already includes all the requirements set forth in the new Grand Rapids rental application fee ordinance. In addition to properly handling applications, fees, denial letters and the like, Compass will also take care of advertising and showing your vacancy. Filling a vacancy is often the most time intensive part of being a landlord – let Compass take care of it and get your time back.